Telescoping drapery rod construction

ABSTRACT

A fabric covered drapery rod having inner and outer telescoping rod sections slotted at the back and including registering grooves forming continuous channels for anchoring the fabric along the edges of the slot with the rod extended to desired length. The lateral edges of the fabric are held in the channels by frictional tucking strips.

Unite States Patent 1 was Olivari Feb. 22, 1972 1541 TELESCOPING DRAPERY ROD 378,086 ..l6/96 D x CONSTRUCTION 2,027,644 Klee 5/3532 X 2,993,392 7/1961 Decker et al..... 24/113 R X [72] mmbe" Randanswwn 3,083,494 4/1963 Lindenbaum 160/330 x [73] Assignee; Eastern products Corporation Columbia, 3,119,442 1/1964 Ford et al ..l6/94 D X Md. Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay Flledi 06L 1969 Assistant Examiner- Peter A. Aschenbrenner [2]] Appl No: 865,740 Attorney-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, V oit & Osann, Ltd.

v 57 STCT (311- 24/243 K A fabric covered drapery rod having inner and outer telescop- A47h ing rod sections slotted at the back and including registering Field of Search grooves forming continuous channels for anchoring the fabric 5/3532; 24/113 R, 243 K; 160/330 along the edges of the slot with the rod extended to desired length. The lateral edges of the fabric are held in the channels [56] References Cited by frictional tucking strips.

UNITED STATES PATENTS ll Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Strobe], 16/96 D TELESCOPING DRAPERY ROD CONSTRUCTION Drapery rods are conventionally of telescoping construction to fit a wide range of window openings. Some interior decorators object to the joint between the sections and the fact that the sections are of detectably different size and, to secure a more finished appearance, have resorted to custom rods of special material, cut to length, at a much higher cost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a telescoping drapery rod which may be used universally for various window widths, which can be produced economically at a cost comparable to conventional telescoping rods, but which provides a finished and tailored appearance superior to that of expensive custom rods. It is a related object, indeed, to provide a novel procedure for customizing" a rod of telescoping type so that it appears to be custom fitted and which has a surface coordinated with the room decor.

It is a more detailed object to provide a telescoping drapery rod which is easily installed and in which the customizing requires but a few minutes of time on the part of the installer, utilizing narrow lengths of fabric which may, for example, be scraps from the tailoring of the draperies. It is thus an object to provide a rod which is matched to the draperies and which may be easily and quickly recovered when a new set of draperies is installed.

It is yet another object to provide a telescoping drapery rod construction which includes an anchored layer of fabric which not only improves the appearance but which serves to maintain the rod accurately in its extended dimension with no need for readjustment of length when the rod is subsequently removed and reinstalled.

It is finally an object of the invention to provide a fabric covered drapery rod which is particularly well suited for use with cafe type sliding rings, which gives the illusion of rings sliding upon fabric, but in which actual wearing engagement with the fabric is avoided.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent upon reading the attached detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a drapery installation embodying the present invention and with the draperies greatly foreshortened;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective showing the left-hand end of the rod shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section looking along the line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3a is an enlarged fragment of the tucking groove shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective showing the installation of the fabric; and

FIG. 5 shows a telescoping rod of square cross section embodying the invention.

While the invention has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that I do not intend to limit the invention thereto but intend to cover such modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Turning now to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a drapery installation employing a composite rod of hollow tubular construction having decorative finials I1, 12 plugged into the ends and supported on spaced wall brackets 15, I6.

Mounted on the rod are ring-shaped slides 20, with the central slides 21, 22 having carriers (not shown) of conventional type for supporting the leading edges of the drapery panels designated 23, 24. The fabric of the drapery panels may have a decorative and artistic all-over pattern as indicated by the stippling. For convenience in drawing the draperies, the rod 10 may be provided with the usual set of cords and pulleys, the cords being coupled to the central slides 21, 22, but such cording is incidental and not necessary for an understanding of the invention and hence has not been shown.

The construction of individual slides 20 will be apparent from inspection of FIGS. 2 and 3. Each of the slides includes a runner 31 (see FIG. 3) which may be formed of plastic, an encircling ring 32, and a drop link 33, all secured together by a through-pin 34. An opening 35 at the lower end of the drop link receives an individual drapery hook 36.

In accordance with the present invention the composite rod is formed of outer and inner telescoping sections having re gistering lands on the back defining a longitudinal slot and having a closely fitted layer of fabric wrapped around the front of the rod, when the rod is in its extended dimension, and anchored along the lands at the back thereby to cover the joint between the rod sections to achieve a tailored, customized appearance. More specifically in accordance with the invention, mating longitudinal grooves are formed in the respective lands of each rod section to form continuous channels for receiving the edges of the fabric, with the channels being sufficiently deep to provide opposed sidewalls and! with a resilient longitudinally extending tucking strip in each of the channels to maintain the received edge of the fabric frictionally captive. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rod is made up of a pair of hollow telescoping sections including an outer section 40 having a pair of lands 41, 42 defining a central slot 43. Longitudinal grooves 45, 46 are roll-formed in the land portions. The inner rod section 40a, which is slightly smaller than the section 40, and of matching cross-sectional contour, is similarly provided with lands 41a, 42a defining a slot 43a and with the lands formed to provide registering grooves 45a, 46a. Thus the grooves 45, 45a and 46, 460 while of different crosssectional area, define tucking channels which run continuously the length of the rod regardless of the degree of rod extension. The rod, when extended, shows an overlapping joint 48.

For the purpose of covering the rod, a strip of fabric 50 is provided having lateral edges 51, 52 and ends 53 and of such width that when the fabric is wrapped around the front of the rod, the lateral edges SI, 52 extend to the land surfaces at the back of the rod preferably stopping short of slot so as not to interfere with the runner of slide. To anchor the fabric, tucking strips 61, 62 are used which may, for example, be in the form of resilient tubing of rubber or rubberlike material capable of frictionally engaging the fabric.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the strip of fabric may be formed about the front of the rod and held in place, on a temporary basis, if desired, by dabs of cellophane or masking tape. Pressing the tucking strips 61, 62 into seated position in the channels causes the fabric to be drawn taut about the face of the rod to produce a neat and tailored appearance, Preferably, as shown in FIG. 3a, the continuous channels 45, 45a and 46, 46a are sufficiently deep as to provide directly opposed sidewalls so that the fabric and tucking strip are both maintained captive until intentionally replaced. Because of the difference in the cross-sectional area of the grooves the channel is stepped at the joint but the fabric and tucking strip together provide sufficient resilience so that the difference in channel width is accommodated and the fabric is held securely all along the length of the rod.

For the purpose of anchoring the ends of the fabric strip, each end, indicated at 53, is bent inwardly into the end of the rod (see FIG. 2) prior to plugging the decorative finials ll, 12 into place. In this way the fabric covering on the rod is stretched longitudinally as well as in the peripheral dimension. The layer of fabric effectively conceals the existence of the joint 48 between the sections, providing smooth continuity from end to end and giving the impression of a more expensive, custom installation. The custom look is further enhanced by employing the same fabric to cover the rod as is used in the panels of the drapery thereby opening new possibilities for interior decoration. It will be apparent to those skilled in this field that the fabric covering the rod may be chosen to contrast with the drapery material but match or complement other colors used in the decorative scheme.

It is one of the features of the present invention that the longitudinally extending anchoring means for the fabric performs the additional function of maintaining the rod sections effectively locked together with the rod in the desired degree of extension to avoid the slippage, and necessity for readjustment, which usually occurs when the rod is removed and placed back in position on the brackets. In a popular design of bracket IS, a struck out tab 15a is provided in the arc of the bracket which cradles the rod, such tab being received in a registering opening 15b (see FIG. 2) in the rod. When a conventional telescoping type rod is used it is sometimes difficult to reachieve the exact condition of register when the rod is taken down for cleaning or for some other purpose and then reinstalled. By contrast, in the present construction the fabric anchoring means can be relied upon to accurately maintain accurate extension, which is particularly desirable where, as here, the opening 15b is covered and hence concealed.

While the invention has been described in connection with telescoping rod sections of circular contour, the idea is not limited thereto and may be applied if desired to rods of other specific cross section, for example, square rods as shown in FIG. 5, where corresponding parts are indicated by corresponding reference numerals with addition of subscript b. Finally, while a cradling type of bracket has been described, the cloth covering does not preclude use of the suspension type of bracket employed for central support in which the tips of the bracket enter angled grooves provided for the purpose. If the engaging bracket tips are short, they may be accommodated by the resilience of the fabric, otherwise a short slit may be made in the fabric at the bracket positions.

The present composite rod, with fabric covering, is especially well suited for use with false cafe type drapery rings,

not only because the rod is fully revealed but because the rings do not in fact ride upon or engage the fabric.

I claim as my invention:

1. A composite drapery rod comprising, in combination outer and inner hollow telescoping sections having registering lands on the back defining a longitudinal slot running the length of each of the sections and showing an overlapping joint when the sections are extended to fill a window opening, a closely fitted strip of fabric extending the length of the composite extended rod and covering the joint so that the rod appears to be of one piece, the fabric being wrapped around the front top and bottom of the rod and presenting lateral edges extending to the land surfaces at the back of the rod, each of the rod sections having grooves formed in the respective lands with the grooves in the outer section mating with the grooves formed in the inner section to define a pair of continuous fabric-receiving channels of stepped width along the length of the extended rod adjacent the respective edges of the slot, the channels being sufficiently deep at all points along the length as to provide opposed sidewalls, and a pair of resilient flexible tucking strips in the respective channels for holding the fabric captive in the channels and for maintaining the rod sections in precisely extended relation. 

1. A composite drapery rod comprising, in combination outer and inner hollow telescoping sections having registering lands on the back defining a longitudinal slot running the length of each of the sections and showing an overlapping joint when the sections are extended to fill a window opening, a closely fitted strip of fabric extending the length of the composite extended rod and covering the joint so that the rod appears to be of one piece, the fabric being wrapped around the front top and bottom of the rod and presenting lateral edges extending to the land surfaces at the back of the rod, each of the rod sections having grooves formed in the respective lands with the grooves in the outer section matIng with the grooves formed in the inner section to define a pair of continuous fabric-receiving channels of stepped width along the length of the extended rod adjacent the respective edges of the slot, the channels being sufficiently deep at all points along the length as to provide opposed sidewalls, and a pair of resilient flexible tucking strips in the respective channels for holding the fabric captive in the channels and for maintaining the rod sections in precisely extended relation. 